


A Bruised Heart

by ericsonclan



Series: Ericson's Diner AU [11]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:01:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24748777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: Violet comes to Ericson's Diner with a black eye. Everyone tries their best to help.
Relationships: Aasim/Ruby (Walking Dead: Done Running), Clementine/Louis (Walking Dead: Done Running), Louis & Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running), Marlon & Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running), Mitch & Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running), Prisha/Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Series: Ericson's Diner AU [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1688374
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (by Linnea)

It seemed like the beginning of a good day at Ericson's Diner. Louis had showed up a bit early bringing with him drinks for the staff. He figured everyone had been working so hard that they deserved a surprise treat. Especially for Violet. Every last Friday of the month she would visit her mom, giving her part of her monthly paychecks to help her out. Her relationship with her mom was rocky at best, but Louis hoped that having some chamomile tea afterwards would make it better. As he placed the drinks down the front door squeaked open as the bell rang overhead. He turned to see Violet walk in. 

“Hey, Vi! How was the meeting with your mom?” His smile quickly disappeared when he saw her pass by him. Her hoodie had the hood pulled up as she pushed a baseball cap down to further cover her face. Louis followed closely behind her, shutting the staff room door before speaking. “Vi? What’s wrong?”

Violet had her back turned towards him. “I left my phone in here.” She quietly muttered.

Louis took a step closer.

“Back off, Louis.” Violet's voice was heavy and filled with warning, but Louis could see her body shaking slightly.

He paused. He knew that if he handled this wrong it could end up blowing up in his face. But when he looked at his best friend he knew he had to take the risk.

“Vi... What happened?” He put a hand on her shoulder. 

She pushed his arm away before turning around and revealing her face. Even though the hood was still on Louis could see that she had a black eye. The eye was forced shut and covered in a purple bruise. As he continued to search her face Louis also noticed her busted lip. It was swollen and a cut had formed on it. Blood slowly oozed from the cut. 

“Oh my god! Vi! Who did this to you?” Louis asked, concern painted on his face. It only took moments for him to realize who it must’ve been. “Was it him?” Louis’ voice was deadly serious. “Did your dad do this?” Anger carried throughout his voice. 

“He wasn’t supposed to be there.” Violet finally spoke, her voice cracking. 

“We should call the police.” 

“No!” Violet screamed. “Even if I told them, it wouldn’t mean shit! They’d need a witness. My mom wouldn’t do it. She’s terrified.” 

Louis stood there unsure of what to say. 

“Besides, even if he does go away it wouldn’t be long before he’s back and he’d make my mom’s life a living hell.” Violet’s eyes were wet with tears as she sat down. Her body shook with the effort of holding her emotions inside.

Louis hated seeing his friend like this. His heart twisted in pain at the sight of her pain. “We need to get that eye iced.” Louis grabbed Violet’s hand. 

She silently nodded, holding on to his hand as they made their way out to the front of the diner. Louis stopped by the bar, running to the ice box and beginning to make an ice pack. 

Violet looked around before noticing that they weren’t the only ones there. Prisha was also there. Shit. She must’ve shown up when Lou and I were talking which means the others will be here soon too. Violet's stomach turned with anxiety. 

Prisha stood there staring at Violet with a concerned look on her face. She slowly took a step forward and reached out one of her hands. 

Violet quickly turned away, running into the kitchen. _Shit! I look so pathetic right now. No, I **am** pathetic. _Violet leaned against a wall catching her breath before she heard a familiar voice. 

“Oh, hi Violet. Oh my gosh, what happened to your face?” Ruby ran over to Violet. Her hand gently reached up to Violet’s face. 

Violet recoiled. “I-I should go. Shit. I’m sorry.” Violet whispered.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. Come here.” Ruby guided Violet through the kitchen and stopped by the freezer. She quickly pulled out a steak and placed it against Violet’s eye. 

Violet winced in pain before letting out a sigh. “Thanks, Ruby.” 

“Oh, sug, it’s nothing.” Ruby smiled. “Omar! Whip up the finest order of chicken nuggets!” 

Omar glanced over and quickly pieced together the situation. He started on the order right away. 

“Ruby? Are you in here? I’ve got a question about…” Aasim froze as soon as he saw Violet’s face. “Violet, what happened to you? How did you get these injuries? He paused. “Did your father do this?” 

Ruby looked surprised as she saw Aasim’s body language change. 

“You should press legal charges. I know what forms you need. I can help.” His voice was gentle as he spoke.

“Fuck off, Aasim!” Violet snapped before realizing her mistake. “I just… I can’t. Okay?”

Aasim nodded solemnly. “Whatever you need. I just want to help.” 

“I just need a little space.” Violet murmured.. 

“Alright. I’ll let the others know that you won’t be in the front of the house.” Aasim turned to leave. 

“Do you want me to leave too?” Ruby asked.

“No. It’s fine that you’re here.” Violet felt her eyes fill with tears. 

Ruby gently placed her hand on Violet’s back. “I’ll stay then.” 

\---

Louis pulled Brody and Clementine aside in the staff room. Both seemed concerned as they hadn’t seen Louis act this serious before at work. 

“Louis? What’s wrong?” Clementine asked with concern. 

“Vi. She’s having a really hard day.” Louis said, his voice cracking before he took a deep breath. “So I need you two to run the front of the house.”

“Of course!” Brody replied. “Is she okay?”

“She… she just needs some time.”

“Yeah. Totally. Brody and I will cover for her. She doesn’t have to worry about a thing.” Clementine put a hand on Louis’ shoulder. 

He drew a shaky breath. “Okay. That’s good. Have either of you seen Prisha?”

\---

Prisha stood outside at the back of the diner. The look on Violet’s face was so full of sorrow and fear. Prisha’s heart ached as she thought about it. I never want to see her that sad ever again. Rage seething inside her, she drew a deep breath. She couldn’t do anything rash. But that didn’t mean that she was going to do nothing at all. She knew what she wanted, but she needed help to make her plans a reality. Luckily she knew just the right person for the job.She took out her phone, quickly inputting a number before placing the phone by her ear.

“Hello? Who the fuck is this?” Mitch’s voice sounded annoyed.

“I work at Ericson’s Diner. Do you wanna stink bomb a place?”

“Hell yeah I do!”

“Okay, meet me at Ericson’s diner in 20 minutes.”

Mitch showed up on time. Prisha quickly filled him in on the situation. His face darkened at the news. “That bastard.”

“So you know who did it?” 

“Yeah, her old man. Shit! I thought she was finally free from that fucking bastard. If only I could beat the shit out of him without jail time. I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

Prisha's heart dropped. She figured Violet’s home life growing up wasn’t good, but to think it was this bad... She felt her heart twist in disgust. How could a father do that to his own child? “I’ll drive. Just show me the way.”

Mitch nodded.

\---

When they arrived, Mitch's face filled with shock. “Holy shit! I see we’ve been beaten to it.” He said with a smirk as he pointed at a beat-up car. Its windows were completely smashed and its hood was dented to hell. “That has to be Marlon’s doing! Fuckin’ A! Good one, Marlon!” Mitch laughed. “Serves the old bastard right! You ready, Prisha?”

“Yes. Let’s stink bomb the hell out of the place!”

They both quietly made their way to the trailer. Within seconds Mitch had picked the lock and they were in. Prisha looked at the inside of the trailer. It was so small. They went to work right away, setting the timer for the bombs so that at five when he was supposed to be home the first bomb would go off. Then every hour on the hour the next one would go off.

As they reentered the car the two high-fived.

“It’s totally gonna smell like ass in there for weeks! He won’t be able to get the smell out!” Mitch laughed. 

Prisha smiled. “He deserves every single minute of it.” 

Prisha and Mitch drove off, proud of a job well done. After a quick stop to drop Mitch off, Prisha drove back to the diner. She had missed most of the day. Maybe she should’ve told someone where she was going but she didn’t want anyone stopping her. 

\---

Violet sat in the staff room. The day was almost over and she had spent most of it in the kitchen with Ruby and a ribeye. She sighed. I should probably talk to Prisha. 

Suddenly the door to the staff room opened and Prisha walked inside. 

Violet stood up and the two stared at each other in silence. Violet suddenly ran forward, enveloping Prisha in a hug, burying her face against her as tears ran down her face. 

Prisha returned the hug, gently placing her head on top of Violet’s. “Let’s go home.”

Violet looked up and nodded, giving a small smile. _Even through all the shit, I still have people who care about me._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prisha learns more of Violet's past.

“Violet, you can’t keep storing chicken nuggets around the bar,” Prisha sighed as she leaned down to grab the plate of chicken nuggets that were hidden in a lower cupboard.

“Why not?” Violet crossed her arms for a moment before snatching some of the chicken nuggets now set out on the bar.

“Because it’s making everything smell like chicken!” Prisha gestured to the bar around her.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Violet grumbled. Her words were slightly muffled due to the chicken nuggets in her mouth.

“Not when my customers are bombarding me with the same question night after night!” Prisha’s voice rose. With a groan she reached up above the bar to grab some of the glasses that needed cleaning. Once she had successfully gotten them down from the shelf, her eyes caught something. Although her view was slightly blocked by her arm, she noticed Violet flinch, her face falling as she turned away. 

“Violet,” Prisha started, but Violet immediately turned around.

“I need to go,” Without waiting for her girlfriend’s response, Violet disappeared into one of the back rooms of the diner.

Prisha’s eyes stayed locked on the hallway leading into the back rooms. She knew that Violet’s home life had been bad, but it was clearly worse than she’d thought. Prisha was in the middle of deciding what the best course of action was when a customer sat down in one of the seats. 

“Give me a beer,” 

Prisha looked over at the man before grabbing the drink. 

The man’s face twisted in confusion. “Why does it smell like chicken around here?” 

Prisha let out a tired sigh. It was going to be a long day.

\---

A couple days passed since the fight and Friday rolled around. Prisha had let the days slip by feeling like it wasn’t her place to initiate the conversation. Prisha stifled a yawn as she walked through the front door of the diner. She was surprised when she heard two voices coming from one of the booths. It sounded as if they were in an argument. It only took her a moment to recognize that the voices belonged to Louis and Marlon and only a few moments more for Prisha’s curiosity to get the better of her. As she walked toward the source of the argument, the words began to become clear.

“Why did you let Vi go by herself!” Marlon shouted. His emotion had gotten the better of him and without realizing it he had risen up from his spot at the booth. 

“I offered to go along with her, but she told me to back off.” Louis’ voice had a softer tone to it, concern hidden within its layers.

“Still, what if that bastard is there again?” Marlon slammed his hands on the table.

Louis’ eyes locked onto Marlon’s then looked away. “She isn’t meeting her mom at the trailer this time. If you saw the look in her eyes this morning, you’d realize that she really wanted to be left alone.”

Silence fell between the pair of friends before Louis got up from his spot. 

“I need to get to work. We’ve just gotta trust Violet,” Louis’ expression made it obvious that he was trying to convince himself as much as Marlon with his words. With that he walked back toward the kitchen.

Marlon fell back into his spot with an angry groan. His eyes widened in shock when he saw Prisha. “Prisha!” He straightened his posture. “What are you doing here?”

“I came in early today and overheard the conversation.” Prisha took a seat across from Marlon who looked surprised by her action. 

“Then I guess you know what we were talking about,” Marlon leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. 

“Yes,”

“I just wish her old man would pay for what he’s done. Last month when… shit. I haven’t seen it that bad in a while.”

“That bad? So it _was_ worse than I thought.” Prisha’s eyes looked sad as they focused on the table.  
Her words made Marlon pause, realizing that he was delving into topics that weren’t really his business to share with Prisha. “Let’s just say it got bad enough for her that she would stay at my house, Louis’ or Mitch’s place some nights in the past. But that’s all I’ll say.” Marlon looked down at his watch, cursing under his breath. “I gotta go. Got a delivery halfway across town.” With that he left the table, giving a short wave before disappearing towards his truck, leaving Prisha alone with the new information and her many, many thoughts. 

Prisha’s mind seemed consumed by that conversation as she continued the different daily tasks that needed to be done around the diner. She knew Violet wouldn’t be showing up today anyway. It was one of her days off. The day continued in a blur, the morning quickly turning to afternoon and the afternoon slowly changing into early evening. Prisha was in the middle of cleaning one of the shot glasses when she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket. It had completely slipped her mind to put it in the break room this morning. She should probably wait until her shift was over, but the thought kept bugging her until she gave in to her curiosity and checked to see who had texted her. It was Violet, asking if she could drop by Prisha’s apartment after her shift was over. Prisha looked at the text for a moment, wondering what had prompted her girlfriend to send it. With a few quick taps Prisha sent her response, her focus quickly returning to the bar in front of her. 

\---

It was around ten when Prisha’s double shift was finally done. Violet showed up at her place a short while after. The two sat on Prisha’s couch together. Violet seemed like she was preoccupied with the idea of whether or not to bring up something while Prisha waited patiently. 

“A couple days ago when we had that stupid fight about chicken nuggets...” Violet paused, her attention turning from the floor to Prisha, “I know that you saw me flinch.”

Prisha remained silent at the statement, unsure whether Violet had any more to say or not. 

“So, I thought that you’d understand it better if I told you why,” Violet scratched the back of her neck, trying to find the courage to continue the conversation. “Growing up, my dad was never really around all that much. Or I guess he was, but he’d always be drunk out of his mind. Most of the time he’d just yell at me or my mom and we’d take it and move on with our day.” Violet’s voice was softer than usual, almost fragile as she continued. “But sometimes he’d get pissed off for no reason and he’d turn his anger on my mom or me, getting a couple good hits in before we could get away,” Violet took a shaky breath. “My mom never said anything and I was too much of a coward to do anything about it. So I took on some habits from it instead. I’d always try to hide and figure out how I could dodge his mood swings. Sometimes I was successful and other times… not so much.” Violet shifted on the couch, trying to get in a more comfortable position but after a few failed attempts she decided to focus on her explanation. 

“Eventually when I was old enough I decided to get the fuck out of there and move on. But I guess I’ve never fully been able to get free of it. Most of my money that doesn’t go to my shitty apartment’s rent or student loans goes into my savings account in hopes of maintaining some sort of independence. The rest goes to my mom to make sure that she can get by. I guess what I’m trying to say is I still have some of those habits from all that shit in my past. That’s why I flinched.” Violet looked up at Prisha, her eyes strangely apologetic. 

Prisha looked at her girlfriend for a moment before wrapping her arms around Violet, pulling her into a gentle and tender hug. 

Violet’s eyes widened for a second before her arms slowly wrapped around Prisha’s back.

“I’m so sorry, Violet. I wish I could’ve been there for you back then to help ease your pain,” Prisha felt Violet shake within her arms. “But I’m here for you now. No matter what it is, be it big or small, I’m here for you. To help you and be there for you in any way you need.”

Violet felt overwhelmed by Prisha’s statement. She tried to come up with a good response but was only able to nod silently. The two stayed there in that moment for a minute, finding comfort in the hug before Prisha pulled away and looked down at Violet. 

“It’s getting late. If you want, you can stay here tonight.” 

Violet looked up, surprised by the offer. She processed it for a moment before nodding. 

Prisha’s smile grew at Violet’s acceptance. Soon the two of them were getting ready for bed. Violet didn’t think that she would be staying the night, so Prisha had offered to let her borrow some of her PJs. Violet awkwardly accepted, quickly realizing how different their PJs were. Prisha’s pajamas ended up being pretty roomy on Violet, the bottom of the pants extending a few inches past where they should. Not to mention that all of Prisha’s PJs happened to be silk. Violet had only stayed at Prisha’s place once or twice before and it had always been on the couch. So naturally Violet started to make her way over there when she heard Prisha’s voice.

“Violet, what are you doing?” 

“Going to the couch,” Violet pointed over at the couch while she looked at Prisha. 

“Oh, well you don’t need to sleep there. I was thinking when I offered that you could sleep in the bed with me. I mean, you are my girlfriend.”

Violet’s face immediately heated up at Prisha’s statement. She stood frozen for a minute before making her way over to the bed without a word. When Violet had slipped under the covers she ended up slowly but surely sliding further and further into the depths of the bed. “Prisha, I think I’m getting eaten by your bed,” Violet mumbled as she slipped even further underneath.

Prisha chuckled at Violet's statement while she joined her under the covers. The two lay in bed together, both of their faces turned to face each other. Prisha and Violet looked at each other, each of them getting lost in the other’s eyes when suddenly Prisha lifted up her hand and gently brushed the top of Violet’s ear. Violet felt her face heat up at Prisha's gesture. Slowly Violet’s hand reached for Prisha’s under the covers. Prisha’s smile grew. “We should probably go to bed,” she whispered before turning off the light. Violet’s thumb softly rubbed Prisha’s hand. The two cuddled together, basking in each other’s warmth as they both fell asleep.


End file.
